Today at the National Assembly House, National Assembly Speaker Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic received Pietro Marcenaro, Rapporteur of the Political Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and President of the Italian Senate’s Human Right Commission.

The reason for Marcenaro’s visit to Belgrade is the meeting of the PACE Political Affairs Committee held at the National Assembly House on 6 and 7 September 2010. The meeting includes a Hearing on peace-building in the countries of former Yugoslavia related to the presentation of the opening memorandum of Rapporteur Marcenaro’s report on Reconciliation and political dialogue between the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

In his meeting with the Speaker, Marcenaro conveyed a positive impression of the Political Affairs Committee meeting, stressing that the situation in the region has improved and gives reason for optimism. In the process, cooperation among the countries’ parliaments is the right approach to overcoming all problems. Djukic-Dejanovic and Marcenaro agreed that parliamentary friendship groups between former Yugoslav republics could significantly contribute to peace-building, adoption of European values, as well as improve overall relations.

The NARS Speaker applauded the Council of Europe’s efforts towards this goal and stressed that building trust on the territory of all former Yugoslav republics is a need shared by their citizens. “Parliamentary diplomacy opens doors to improving relations, and meetings between parliamentarians, the elected representatives of the citizens, will significantly influence the further development of political and economic relations as well as peace-building”, stressed the Speaker.

Marcenaro declared the NARS Declaration condemning the crime in Srebrenica a wise and brave move held in high regard by the EU. Both officials agreed that the road to reconciliation lies in condemning all the crimes committed on these territories, bringing the guilty parties to justice and eliminating the language of hate.